The Operations Benchmark
What small service operators actually spend on software, how many tools that buys them, what still runs on spreadsheets, and how often a rollout gets abandoned. One survey a year, published with the counts.
No results yet — the survey opened on 2026-08-16 and nobody has answered it. There is nothing to publish and nothing has been estimated, modelled or borrowed from elsewhere to fill the gap. Figures go up at 30 responses; the target for this edition is 50.
How this is collected
Stated in full, because a benchmark you cannot check the method of is worth nothing.
Who is asked
Owners and operators of small service businesses — event and party rental, education and training, neurodiversity and behavioural health care, sports and recreation, trades and field service. The sectors this studio builds software for, which is why the questions are the ones that turn out to matter.
How it is collected
A public online questionnaire, self-administered, self-selected. Nobody is sampled at random and nobody is paid. Responses are grouped in bands rather than exact figures so an operator can answer from memory in two minutes.
What gets counted
One response per source per day, enforced by a salted one-way fingerprint of the connection rather than by an account. Responses that are obvious duplicates or junk are marked excluded, with a reason, and left in the table — never deleted, so the published figures stay reproducible from the rows behind them.
What gets published
Nothing until 30 responses. Below that a percentage is noise dressed as a finding. At that point the full counts go up, with the sample size and the margin of error next to them, and the raw counts as a CSV.
The limits, stated plainly
- This is a self-selected sample, not a random one. Operators who choose to answer a survey about software are probably not typical of operators who do not.
- It is small by design. A fifty-response benchmark can show a shape; it cannot settle a question to within a few points, which is why the margin is printed beside every figure.
- Answers are self-reported estimates in bands. Nobody is checking anyone's accounting software.
- The duplicate check identifies a network, not a person. Two people in one office read as one source; the same person on a phone and a laptop reads as two.
- Written answers are read by one person and are never published word for word. They shape next year's questions.
The questions
Exactly what is asked, in the order it is asked. Nothing here is weighted or recoded afterwards.
What kind of business is it?
Event, party or equipment rental · Education, training or courses · Neurodiversity or behavioural health care · Sports, recreation or clubs · Trades or field service · Another service business
How many people work in it, including you?
Just me · 2–5 · 6–20 · 21–50 · More than 50
How many separate software tools does the business pay for?
None · 1–2 · 3–5 · 6–10 · 11–20 · More than 20 · Not sure
Roughly what does all of that software cost per month?
Under $100 · $100–$499 · $500–$1,499 · $1,500–$4,999 · $5,000 or more · Not sure
Which of these still run on spreadsheets, paper, or somebody's memory?
Quoting and pricing · Job or session scheduling · Inventory or equipment tracking · Client records and notes · Invoicing and payment chasing · Staff rotas and availability · Compliance or incident documentation · Reporting on how the business is doing · None — all of it is in software
How many hours a week does the team spend typing the same information into more than one place?
Under an hour · 1–5 hours · 6–10 hours · 11–20 hours · More than 20 hours · Not sure
In the last three years, have you started rolling out software and given up before it was in daily use?
Yes · No · One is in progress right now
If you gave up on one, what stopped it?
It cost more than it was worth · The team went back to the old way · It did not match how we actually work · Getting the existing data in was too hard · The vendor or implementer stalled · Nobody had time to finish it · Something else
Have an idea for software your business needs?
If you can explain the workflow, JLM Solutions can help turn it into a working platform.